Ernst & Young sued for $900M over Madoff

Ernst & Young LLP has been sued for $900-million by the liquidators of a fund that once funneled money to the now-imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of M-Invest Ltd, accused Ernst & Young of negligence, professional malpractice and breach of contract over its audits for M-Invest from 2003 through 2007, court papers show.

An Ernst & Young spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Monday. Eric Seiler, a lawyer for the liquidators of M-Invest, also did not immediately return a call. Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Madoff’s firm and seeking money for his victims, reached a $500 million settlement with Union Bancaire and M-Invest a year ago. That accord won bankruptcy court approval last January.

The liquidators of Cayman Islands-based M-Invest filed their lawsuit on Sunday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Madoff, 73, was arrested in December 2008. He is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to running a giant Ponzi scheme.

The case is M-Invest Ltd. v. Ernst & Young LLP, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 653353/2011.